Selected quad for the lemma: city_n
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A11376
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Of the antient lavves of great Britaine. George Saltern
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Salteren, George.
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1605
(1605)
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STC 21635; ESTC S116514
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35,849
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88
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qui postea temporibus Saxonum vocabantur Aldermani And to say that the Britaine 's vsed the name of Senator or borrowed this name of the Romanes is very publikely for they liued in perpetuall hatred and hostility with them as they shewed vpon aâ—l occasions followed not their lawes nor institutions in any thing but by constraint seeing them to be Paganes Idolaters oppressors of their liberty and persecutors of their Religion Neither doth Beda nor any other Historian speake of any Lawes made in Britaine by the Romanes nor of any iudgements by them exercised but of those if they be to be called iudgements whereby Albanus other holy Martirs were moste cruelly put to death Therefore I conclude that the Britaine 's tooke this name other institutions not of them but either of the auncient statutes of nature or of the latter restitution by the Gospell These Nobles therefore together with the Priests other selected commons made the common Counsel of this Iland whereof Caesar speaketh and which at this day is called the Parlament and in the moste of our Histories called consilium Sapientum In the Lawes of Edward before the conquest in the Lawes of King Ina made about the yeare 720. after our Lord Christ there is mencion of theis Parlament consisting of these degrees of men An hundred yeares before that we read that Bertha the Christian Queene of Kent procured judgements to be established Cum consilio sapientum Bed Lib. 2 that is by the Parlament where also the venerable Bede speaketh warily saying that it was after the exaÌ„ple of the Romans but not saying it was after the Romane manner An hundred yeares before that againe in the time of Arthur the warrior we reade of Parlaments and the moste learned King Alfred in his lawes saith plainely that vpon the propagation of the Gospell Lamb. Ar. Nonnulli tam in Anglia quam in alijs regionibus Episcoporum aliorumque clarissimorum sapientum conuentus agebantur which could not bee after the Romane fashion whosoeuer obserueth the circumstances of the matter he shal perceiue it euidently to bee spoken of the time of King Lucius as I said before for in his time being peaceable the Gospell was first publikely receiued Beda Galfrid MonuÌ„ Polidor and after his death this Kingdome continually laboured with intestiue warres in which it was almost impossible to gather counsels and to establish Lawes and gouernment as he speaketh And as it was in this south part of Britaine so was it likewise in the north as appereth by their Chronicles They had Kinges Priestes Nobles and Parlaments agreeable to the forme of gouernment of the moste auncient Kingdomes and to the Lawes of God written in Nature Scripture in this forme consisteth the estate of both the Kingdomes of great Britaine euen to this day And thus much concerning the principall persons whereof the body of our state did and doth consist the next thing to be considered is of thinges according to the proceedings of the institutes but because nothing can bee without a place and wee shall haue better occasion to speake of the diuision property and dominion of things heereafter I will therefore vnder correction intreate now somewhat of the auncient diuision of this Iland the common place subiect of our discourse and of the iudgements therein aunciently vsed Cap. 7. IT is thought by some that this Iland before the comming of the Romanes Camden was rude and barbarous by other that King Alfred was the diuider of this Iland into such Shires and porcions for so the word importeth as at this day we see But these two opinioÌ„s to be true ingeneral I caÌ„not yeeld for if I vnderstaÌ„d our stories it wil easily appeare that this laÌ„d was auncieÌ„tly loÌ„g before Alfreds time deuided almost into as many parts in like manner by the seueral families or nations of auÌ„cient Britaines which are thus reckoned by Hooker in his 2. Booke of the description of England Cap. 4. viz. Nonantae Selgonae Dannonij Gadeni Ottadeni Epdij Cerones Carmonacae Careni Cornubij Decantae Logi Mertae Macomagi Venicontes Texati Polij or Elgoni Brigantes Parisi Ordouici alias Ordoluci Câ—…tiâ—uchlani Coritani Trinobantes Demâ—te Cangi Silures Dobuni Atrebatij Cantij Regni Belgae Durotriges Giruij Ioeni Tegenes Cenimagni Segontiâ—ci Deiri Venedoti Bibroci with some other whome he and others name And of these some as Mr. Camden plainely sheweth possessed one Camden Britann others two or three of these Shires which now are knowne these nations of Britaines are in part named by Caesar others by Mr. Camden Polidore and others So that King Alfreds diuision seemeth not altogether new but rather a reuiuing and more exact description of the old And this is coÌ„firmed by the testimony of Polidore who in the lawes of Mulâ—â—tius maketh mention by name of Counties or Shires Or those Lawes more shall be said hereafter In the meane time it appeareth that this land was deuided into porcions or shares Higden Polichron HuntingdoÌ„ euen by the Britains There were also amongst those Britains euen before Luc us Caesars times diuers great Cityes wherof 28. are named by our Chronicles and some of theÌ„ by Caesar Iter Britan See the discription of England by Hookâ—r besides Townes and Castles innumerable as Huntington saith and as appeareth by the auncient Iter Brittanniarum described by the Romans which are no signes of a barbarous people For if ciuilitie take his name of a Citie or Citizen Cities Citizens caÌ„not be ruled without goodlawes the Britaines were ciuill and ruled with good Lawes which were Citizens of many great Cities And the inconstancy of Caesar and other Romanists is heere to bee noted which call the Britaines barbarous and yet confesse that they had many good Cities Kinges Nobles Gouernors discipline of warre and peace commerce and traficke with forraine Nations and al other parts ef ciuilitie And the question of Pâ—lidore is somewhat ridiculous wheÌ„ he asketh whether any man euer reade of Canterburie Bath Carleâ— or Lecester in Caesar Tacitus Straho or Ptolomy No gentle Mr. Polidore but in Caesar wee reade of the City of Trinobantes and of other Cities and of the Citie of the Brigantes Londinium Louentium Maridunum in Tacitus and Ptolomy your selfe confesse in the same book that it was a Law among the Britaines that the inner parts of the Iland should not be discouered to strangers As for the fastnesse of Cassibellan and the painting of their faces if the storie be wel examined circumstances compared it will easily be prooued that such thinges were not originally in the gouernement and maners of this our countrie but were the wilde fruites of long continued ciuill warres that raged amongst them proceeding of tirranies in their Princes superstition and Idolatry in their Priests rebellion sedition murders thefts adulteries and disobedience in the Subiects some of which thinges are to be gathered by the words
words of the most Godly religious King Alfred in his Lawes Lamb. Arc. HigdeÌ„ Pontic virun Galf. Mon. The Chronicles say that Gildas the auncient Godly Brittaine Priest who liued not much more then 500. yeares after Christ and not much aboue 300. after Lucius translated the British Lawes into Latine afterward Alfred the Godly Saxone Prince traÌ„slated the same into Saxon and so continued them to posteritie Lamb. Ar. Alfred in the entraÌ„ce to his Lawes setting first the ten Commaundements and many judiciall Lawes of Moses and last the Apostolicall Epistle directed to the Gentiles mencioned in the Actes Actes 15 which hee concludeth with these wordes vsed in some translations That you will not haue done your selues do not vnto others windeth vp all with this conclusion By this one coÌ„maundement saith he it is euident inough that Law and right is to bee giuen to all men equally Neither shall we need of any other whatsoeuer iudiciall booke onely let this bee infixed in the minde of him that sitteth as judge vpon others that he giue no other sentence of other men then he wold haue to be giuen in his owne cause But in the propagatioÌ„ of the gospel saith King Alfred when many men beleeued in the word of God then many Synodes were gathered and also in England the Bishoppes other the wisest men assembled who being taught by the mildenes of Christ did set vpon euerie first offender a pecuniarie paine the leuying whereof they coÌ„mitted to the Magistrates c. And a little after Lamb. Archaion These I Alfred the King haue gathered together and committed to writing Then speaking also of the lawes of later time he addeth that there were many thinges also which he thought fit to be obserued in the acts of Ina Offa Ethelbert but the former words are plainely spoken of the Lawes heere established vpon the first receiuing of the Gospell by King Lucius doe fully prooue that the counsel of Elâ—â—herius was followed but with the mercifulnes mildehartenes of our Lord christ after the Saxon phrase and the Sinodes which Alfred speaketh of in the first arriual of the Gospell were the Parlaments of Lucius whose course that it was such as I haue said I pray you see also by that which followeth wherein I wil first speake of the remnants of the Lawes of nature secondly of the auncient Brittish Lawes made before and by Lucius and lastlye of those that followed vntil the Norman Cap. 6. IT is manifest in Histories both sacred prophane that the moste auncient Nations had their Kings or Princes their Priests their Elders or Senators and their Dukes or Captaines Cic. 3. Leg. Gen. 18. Iob. 12. Psa 105.21 and this seemeth to bee according to the Lawe of God Nature it is seene in the Histories of Egipt Iudaea Madian Arabia Greece Italy So Caesar found in Britaine Reges Druidas Caesar Principes et Nobiles Duces For it is to bee noted that where hee nameth the foure Kinges of Kent he sheweth withal that they were all subiect to Câ—…sâ—ibellan and calleth Cingâ—torix Nobilem ducem which proueth that he ment by Reges as commonly the Romanes vnderstood men of nobilitie power gouernemeÌ„t though it were but in one City as he saith of Immanuentius in London who perhaps might then be a LieutenaÌ„t of the city Proaem L. 2 as the Lord Maior is now and so dooth Polidor take it saying that they were foure Princes such as wee now call Earles or Dukes It is prooued also amongst Antiquaries that the famous Belinus and Brennus it is not hard to be proued that Mulmutius and others were Kings of this Iland Bed Lib. 1. and Beda the most faithfull Historian saith literally that before the yere six huÌ„dred after Christ in Britaine SeruabaÌ„t vt cuuque Reges Sacerdotes priuati et optimates suum quique ordinem But of the auncient Kings as likewise of their Elders or Nobles I finde two sorts the one fatherly and the other tirannical the first hauing and maintaining the authority of the first age Aug. de Ciuit Dei Lib 15. et 19. Arist 1. Polit Gen. 17.29 Gen. 27.29 et 49.10 wherein Patres familias regebant the Fathers of the greatest families which contained others were Kings as Adam and Sem taken to be Melchisedec and Assur his Sonne the Fathers of inferior families yet populous and great were Elders or Princes as Abraham Isack Iacob and Iob. Such there were in Britain as Caesar Gildas doe shew The second sorte obtained their authoritie by warre violence or Rebellion as before the floud Cain and afterwards Nimrod Esau and the like And of this sort there was also in Britaine whose times Gildas calleth vetustos immanium Tyrannos annos Gildas in Epistola But as I take it the most ancient Nobilitie of Britaine had a name signifying as much as Elders or Senators as they had in other Countries before mencioned Of that signification there is a name in many auncient recordes to be found a name of auncient nobilitie which importeth in signification an Elder which I take it was the name of that first most auncient British Noble man The name it selfe is Thane and I finde this name vsed for a Noble man in this Iland in Denmake in Ireland It must needes be a name proceeding froÌ„ some of the nations that raygned in these Countries but neither the Romans nor Saxons nor the Danes nor the Irish can giue a reason whereby to claime it as a woord of theirs Onely the Britaines haue a word most neere both in letter signification vse For where the Danes call a Lord or a Noble maÌ„ Thane as the Britains did and where the Irish call him Tane which by reason of his Eldership is next to succeede in some Lordshippe yet neither of them giue a reason for it onely the Britaines vse the woord Heane or Hane to signifie an Elder which answereth to the word Thane as I said both in letter signification vse And to verifie the saying that all thinges make an Harmonious consent to truth The Historie testifieth that the Saxons immediately after their comming into this Iland called their Nobles by a name of the same signification viz. Earles or eldermen a name of Nobilitie vnknowne in their owne Countrie where as I take it they are called Graues or Greues signifying a gouernor which name also they brought hither and it remaineth in some vse to this day But the name of Elder they learned of the Britaines And heereunto agreeth the text extant amongst the Lawes of St. Edward Sicut modo vocantur Greue Lamb. Archaion qui super alios perfecturas habent ita apud Anglos antiquitus vocabantur Ealdermen quasi seniores non propter senectutem cum quidam adolescentes essent sed propter sapientiaÌ„ Et similiter olim apud Britones temporibus RomanoruÌ„ in regno isto Britanniae vocabantur Senatores